This invention relates to a turbomolecular vacuum pump which has a rotor supported by means of air bearings.
A known turbomolecular vacuum pump of the above type, as disclosed, for example, in German Laid-Open Application (Offenlegungsschrift) No. 2,255,618, has a pump rotor which is affixed to the upper end of a vertically oriented shaft supported by means of gas bearings situated in a housing which, in turn, is disposed below the turbomolecular vacuum pump proper. Below the housing that accommodates the rotor shaft, there has to be arranged the drive for the turbomolecular vacuum pump. A significant disadvantage of a turbomolecular vacuum pump having a gas bearing -- supported rotor according to the prior art resides in that its structure has an excessively large spatial requirement in the vertical direction.